A new battleground is forming in the state of Nevada, where an influx of federal funding and state-level tax incentives are seeking to kickstart a critical mineral economy necessary to support the renewable energy transition. But while critical minerals provide foundational components to all of our electronic devices - from everyday technologies like cell phones and laptops, to renewable energy technologies like wind turbines and electric vehicle batteries - extracting them from the ground does not come without its costs.

Sierra Nevada Ally’s science and technology reporter, Scott King recently spoke with Ernest Scheyder, author of The War Below: Lithium, Copper and the Global Battle to Power Our Lives, about what the critical mineral economy means to the everyday Nevadan.

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Amy Ray of Indigo Girls has been penning songs for decades now. The duo had a major hit with the song Closer to Fine in the late 1980s and have continued to write and tour in the years since. Amy has also established herself as a solo artist releasing seven studio albums and three live records on her own. Her musical style is best described as folk-rock, both as the duo and a solo artist. Throughout her career she has sought to bring elements of activism into her tunes. She has been a stalwart voice for the LGBTQ community, but also writes about disenfranchised people from all walks of life. She has established a loyal fanbase over the years and continues to write songs with her people in mind.

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For nearly 80 years, six friends from the Alabama Institute for the Negro Deaf and Blind have been singing together, starting from their first performance at WSGN, a radio station in Birmingham, Ala. The group, now known as the Blind Boys of Alabama, has traveled around the world, performing at Carnegie Hall, the White House and this month, the Nashville Social Club in Carson City.

Sierra Nevada Ally music contributor Will Houk recently spoke with one of the members of the group about their new record, which is nominated for three Grammy awards, and how the group approaches music.

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On this week's Ally Radio, we learn about heat islands: what they are, and how they can impact health. Our contributor Richard Bednarski brings us an interview with Nevada's state climatologist.

Then, we head into our personal archives and take an international audio trip to the Republic of Molossia, a micronation located in northern Nevada, and meet "benevolent dictator" Kevin Baugh. We’ll revisit a 2016 trip to the self-proclaimed sovereign territory.

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In March of last year, a group of friends decided to start a new business together, a bookstore. But they didn't want to make just any bookstore, they wanted it to be more community focused.

The Radical Cat is a feminist bookstore, cat adoption center, and community space. Ilya is in charge of events for the store, which covers the gamut from arts and author events, to civic engagement and do-it-yourself tattoos. Sierra Nevada Ally’s Noah Glick caught up with Ilya to check out this unique shop and learn more about how the owners are working to build a space centered on community.

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On this week's Ally Radio, we’re exploring how the lack of decorum and dignity in public discourse spells trouble for democracy - one possible path forward.

Then, we’ll head to eastern Nevada to learn more about a proposed mine that is hoping to extract vanadium. Vanadium is a critical mineral, like lithium, but this one could hold the answer to more long-term grid-scale renewable energy storage.

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A perennial challenge for renewable energy development has been and continues to be long-duration, grid-scale storage. But one proposed mine in Eureka County could be the first primary ground source in the United States of a mineral called vanadium.

Science and technology reporter Scott King chats about vanadium and it's potential for rural counties, the state of Nevada and the country at large.

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On this week’s Ally Radio, we look at an event this weekend commemorating the 160th anniversary of the Treaty of the Ruby Valley. This agreement from 1863 was between the Western Shoshone people and the U.S. government, and it allowed colonial settlers to travel through and use the land of the Western Shoshone.

What it didn’t do was cede land. A conversation about that treaty, what it means, and a look at this weekend's activities.

Then, a broadcast of one of the Sierra Nevada Ally's winners from this year's Nevada Press Association, an explanatory piece from our energy and technology reporter, Scott King.

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